Evaluation of Current and Future Workforce Needs in Identity Management, Security, and Privacy

This 6-month project is funded by and conducted for the Center for Identity at the University of Texas at Austin. The Ray Marshall Center (RMC), which is part of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, is conducting the evaluation led by Kelly Mikelson, Ph.D., Principal Investigator and Research Scientist, and Christopher T. King, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist at RMC. Overall Objectives:

Assess current and future workforce needs in identity management, security, and privacy;

Evaluate the Master of Science in Identity Management and Security (MSIMS) degree program and professional certificates in Identity Management to determine whether and how these programs may contribute to filling an occupational shortage to educate professionals who are responsible for identity management and security in an ever changing labor force;

Provide a nationwide scan of current and emerging Identity Management and Security (IMS) education and training and certificate programs to assess demand for the MSIMS degree program and the supply of available applicants; and

In consultation with the Center’s strategic partners and key employer representatives, develop recommendations to improve the MSIMS degree program application process, implementation and content, and mode of delivery.

RMC researchers will be conducting in-depth in-person and telephone interviews with the Center for Identity’s key partners, employer representatives, and government agencies in Austin, Washington, DC, and four other cities nationwide. Researchers will be gathering information about education and training needs for identity management, security, and privacy. The information will be used to hone and further develop the Center’s MSIMS degree program and will culminate in a Final Report and recommendations in mid-April 2015.